Engineers from the University of New South Wales Sydney (UNSW) have teamed up with Chinese perovskite module manufacturer UtmoLight to set a world efficiency record for large-area perovskite solar submodules.

The UNSW team, led by Scientia Professor Xiaojing Hao from the university’s School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering, achieved a certified stabilized power conversion efficiency of 23.5% for a perovskite submodule, surpassing the previous benchmark by 0.6 percentage points.

The name of the entity that certified the result was not disclosed.

The researchers said the result is particularly significant as it sets a new efficiency benchmark for a 30 cm × 30 cm perovskite submodule with an aperture area of 676 cm², further narrowing the efficiency gap with small-area laboratory cells, which typically measure about 1 cm².

Hao said the milestone demonstrates that perovskite solar technology can maintain high efficiency over much larger areas than laboratory-scale cells, reinforcing its potential for scalable manufacturing and widespread use in PV modules.

“For us, this is not only about setting another efficiency record,” she said. “It is about developing materials and device concepts that continue to perform when they are translated from laboratory cells to industrially relevant areas.”

“Materials that work exceptionally well in a small laboratory device do not necessarily behave in the same way under scaled-up processing conditions. Our focus is therefore not simply on finding high-performance materials, but on understanding how to design materials and interfaces that remain effective under the conditions required for large-area fabrication,” she added.

The world record was achieved by eliminating the conventional nickel oxide layer, which is commonly used in perovskite solar cells, particularly in submodules, to help prevent electrical short circuits and ensure proper device operation.

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